She shared stories that instilled in him an awareness that despite the way the world tries to deny a person’s basic humanity – every person has inherent dignity and value simply because they are a “child of God.” Believing that at your core, she insisted, provides all the backing required to withstand whatever cruelties society throws at you. She never learned to read or write yet it is said she taught young Howard more about God and religion than he ever learned in college or theology school. His grandmother spent the first 20 years of her life enslaved. Howard Thurman was born in Daytona Beach, Florida in 1899. Jesus Christ was born a poor “outsider,” a member of the Jewish minority under Roman occupation, without rights and privileges in the wider society. For Thurman, Jesus was the life-model for black Americans or anyone who lives each day with their “backs against the wall.” Written in 1949, the book today is a religion classic. The book, written by African American theologian Howard Thurman, speaks to how Jesus Christ was born a poor “outsider,” a member of the Jewish minority under Roman occupation, without rights and privileges in the wider society. Jesse Jackson and other Civil Rights icons carried the same book “just as a reference.” took to the streets leading those historic Civil Rights marches that eventually transformed America, he often carried in his suitcase a small book entitled Jesus and the Disinherited. By Martin Doblmeier, Director of Backs Against The Wall: The Howard Thurman Story
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